Nostalgia (1983 - Andrei Tarkovsky) - Why we need a Stalker

How did this movie from Tarkovsky make you feel? This is his fourth movie in my diary. After extraordinary experiences with Stalker, Mirror and Solaris, Nostalghia delivered again.

Tarkovsky has managed this time to crawl under my skin and impact me in ways I haven't been impacted by film since Persona. The story is set in Italy where a russian poet, guided by a woman, is there to research the life of an 18-th century Russian expatriate. But this is the least I was interested in. It is introspective upon the director's life itself but the underlying context is what disturbed me the most.

The pace is set from the first scene, where the poet, Andrei is invited to see some beautiful landscapes but he feels like he does not want anything for himself anymore. The tone is also set with this beautifully shot landscape and atmosphere which, in turn, while the film progresses turn into surreal, beautifully crafted and displayed moving paintings. I feel like you could take any frame from the film, print it on the wall and the result would be amazing. The composition, camera movement, focus and perspective shift made me sit in awe throughout the majority of the film.

Fortunately, this is outshadowed by the emotional side of the film, the soul-speaking inner turmoil that the character has all the time, nostalgically remembering his homeland and everything he loves. This particular aspect did not resonate with me, mainly because the context is very specific. What resonated instead was the antithesis he found himself in, between the idea that frontiers between countries should be shattered and him building barriers around him to isolate himself from others. Some might say that some of the dialogue in the film is nonsensical but I think this proves my point. While the woman rambles about her infatuation or the negation of it, he can't connect to anything except his own thoughts. Thus isolating himself even further.

Words would be useful as why one would have this attitude towards everything, or why this speaks to me. Maybe that is why he connects with the lunatic above everyone, as he states, "they are closer to the truth".

Wishing everything to feel like home is something everyone could identify with, everyone craves for this. In a metaphorical way, home can be anything, your dreams, your wishes, your hopes, your work, pretty much anything. The attitude to isolate yourself from reality juxtaposed with the hunger for "home" could lead to self destruction. And that's why you need a Stalker.